nine of us boarded amtrak in rochchacha for a pilgrimmage to the rad lace and subversive knitting exhibit at the MAD museum in NYC last weekend.
eight hours of knitting, gabbing, and eating ensued. (modalura girls rachel and jackie O tried their hardest to remain anonymous.)
after tossing our bags in the room at the W, we made our way to purl soho. the shopkeepers did their best to look the other way as we ravaged their perfectly organized bins of wild wooliness.
sated with yarn, but starved for carbs, we headed over to magnolia. NB: magnolia cupcakes are best eaten before embarking on the new york subway system. unless, of course, you prefer to consume your cupcakes via deconstructed buttercream formations on the top, bottom, and sides of a bakery box. mmmmm, cardboard.
the next day, we visited the rad lace exhibit. if you haven't seen it yet, go. you'll never look at lace or knitting in the same way again. for example, one installment was an arrangement of junk the artist found on the roadside: chairs, shelving, shopping carts. each item was tightly wrapped with bright white tape to create a huge, three-dimensional piece of lace.
another piece i loved was a chandelier knit from fiber optic strands. no light bulb required. the strands come to life with light when they're bent, which happens during the knitting itself.
the worst part is you can't touch anything. of course, that's all we knitters want to do! the museum guards were on us like a hobo on a ham sandwich. the one consolation was a participatory installation where visitors could knit a couple rows on a bunch of hats they're sending to soldiers in iraq.
